It is at the end of the summer when we see greater numbers of foot and ankle problems. This is largely the result of more prolonged time spent either barefoot , wearing flip flops or other footware that has minimal support. Some people are more susceptible to this than others . Those with naturally lower arches, knock knees or who are over weight fall into this group. A 'snip it' in the new Times science magazine, Eureka particularly caught my eye. It has compelling objective evidence for the dangers of wearing narrow heeled shoes. The pressure going through a foot wearing a stilleto shoe is 24 times that experienced by an elephant. For the maths geaks amongst you, the data for a woman weighing 60kg is 60/2/0.0001m which equals -3000000n/metre squared, whereas for an elephant of 5000kg is 5000/4/0.1m which comes out as -125000n/metre squared.
This enormous pressure may well be significantly higher for many women.... those weighing more than 60kg (9and a half stone). Whilst most of us have been aware that high heeled shoes are not 'a good thing', these relative statistics I think create a much more compelling picture. So when you next think of wearing or sit admiring someone in stillettos just remember that in some respects it is an elephant you are viewing!!! I am sure I don't need to elaborate on the greater mechanical stress involved